Lucero (born Lucero Hogaza León on 29 August 1969) is a successful Mexican singer and actress. She has sold over 27 million albums worldwide. She has sung songs in Spanish, Portuguese and English. She started her career at the age of 10 as Lucerito. She is currently separated from singer Manuel Mijares, with whom she has two children. Her mother, actress and producer Luz María León Sauvinet, was her manager until recent times.

980s - A star is born
The year 1980 marks the beginning of the career of a charismatic girl named Lucerito, who was born on the late 1960s in Mexico City. When she was too young, Lucerito always had concerns about being an artist, but at her 10 years of age Televisa offered her the first opportunity for a juvenile theme program named Alegrías De Mediodía (Midday Happiness), next to several children and young talents in music and comedy, like Aida Pierce, Aleks Syntek among others. Lucerito combined their work with their academic studies, and she also prepared taking singing and dancing lessons for a better and safer development on the stage; at that time she also performed in the program Juguemos a Cantar (Let's play to sing), which she was the interpreter of the theme. Following these opportunities, Lucerito received several offers in different programs, among them Chiquilladas (Childishness), making her first stellar appearance in the series for children, where one of her more popular roles was in a Popeye skit as Olive Oyl.

In 1982, she starred her first telenovela, produced by Valentín Pimpstein, Chispita ("Little Spark"), alternating with great actors such as Enrique Lizalde, Angélica Aragón, among others. Her acting brought her 2 awards, her first TVyNovelas Award and Azteca de Oro Award. From that moment her career was seen as a promising future; curiously enough with the emergence of Lucerito as a singer, she did not record the theme song for this telenovela. Instead that task was given to Timbiriche, the most popular juvenile group in Mexico. This is how Raúl Velasco invited her to conduct and interpret the main theme of the musical pageant América, Esta Es Tu Canción. Being 1982 a busy year, Lucero began to work on her very first album, with Musart Records, released the album Te Prometo (Eng: I promise you), later renamed just "Él" (Eng: Him).

In 1983, the filmmakers did not want to be indifferent to the birth of this new young star and was hired by Daniel Galindo for her first film called Coqueta (Coquette), which she shared credit with Pedrito Fernández, making her big screen debut.

After almost 2 years, in 1984, Lucerito came with her second album named Con tan pocos años. In this year, she was contacted again by the director Sergio Vejar to act in the movie Delincuente (Delinquent), since the film Coqueta was a big success in Mexico and south africa .

The following year, 1985, she was contacted to perform in her third film Fiebre de Amor (Eng: Love Fever) along with one of the most sought-after male singer of the decade, Luis Miguel. This combination was a complete success with the audience and the film received 2 Diosa de la Plata Awards, including Breakthrough Performance for Lucerito. She participated in the soundtrack with two songs, and due to the favourable outcome of the film, the soundtrack also had a special edition for Italy.

In this same year, Lucerito left her mentor from the first two albums, Sergio Andrade at the suggestion of her mother, as the gossip began to grow and stated that he had fallen in love with her. To avoid problems, the music company decided to release another album, but this time without the guidance of Sergio Andrade, instead she was provided with different producers and composers, among them Joan Sebastian and Jaime Sánchez Rosaldo. The album was titled Fuego y Ternura (Eng: Fire and Tenderness) later known as Magia; the album managed good sales in Mexico and United States, reaching platinum status in Mexico. For this album she achieved 2 recognitions for Best Singer, TVyNovelas Award and El Heraldo Award. This album was a change in style, opting for more teen-oriented pop music. With this record, she gained her first real hit with Fuego y Ternura, written by singer/songwriter Prisma. During this year, Lucerito was hired by Adventure Kingdom to perform 2 songs for the whale Keiko in a single, the purpose of this single achieved its goal in sales. To make matters better, she was hired by PepsiCo International; in 1985 Pepsico found in Lucerito the most recognized image in the youth, so they chose her to be the spokesperson for their drink Mirinda, the focus of this campaign was only for Mexico. She made an special appearance in one episode of the serie Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real.

In 1986, she recorded Un Pedacito De Mí (Eng: A little piece of me), her fourth and last album with Musart Records,in order to get away from the shadow of Sergio Andrade's management, she went to Melody Records to sign this same year. Due to the departure of the singer to another company, Musart did not promote this album, which resulted with sales a little low in relation to her previous albums. Her single Era la primera vez (Eng: It was the first time), was a hit in Mexico charts reaching the top 10 and the top 20 in Billboard. During this year she was also cast to performed in her first theatre credit, in the play Don Juan Tenorio, where she starred as the character of Doña Inés de Ulloa.

In 1987, Lucerito was offered to star in her fourth film with the director René Cardona Jr., the movie was known as Escápate Conmigo (Eng: Escape with me). She performed next to her now ex-husband, but then friend Manuel Mijares and comedian Jorge Ortiz de Pinedo. The film enjoyed moderate success, and due to this Melody Records released the soundtrack of this motion pictures under the same name of it. One point to stand out is that although Mijares was already a well-known singer, he was not involved in the recording of any new song, besides this production was the first one with Melody Records, like a prelude to her next album.

In 1988 she released Lucerito (later re-released as Ocho Quince), her Melody Records debut. The album was a huge success and brought her to the realms of Mexican pop music where she now competed with teen pop acts at the time such as Timbiriche, Sasha Sokol, Luis Miguel, Tatiana, Chayanne, Karina, and Flans. From this album she released several tracks earning big fame, but the songs "Millones mejor que tú" (Eng: Millions better than you), "Vete con ella" (Eng: Go away with her) and "Tu amiga fiel" (Eng: Your faithful friend") established her as a solid pop singer. The album achieved substantial sales in Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala, U.S.A., which Lucero later visited to promote her album. The sales in Mexico reach the gold status for the album. The album gave her "Galardón a los Grandes" award for Best Singer. During this year, she decided to star in her 5th film called Quisiera Ser Hombre (Eng: I wish I were a man), starring next to Eduardo Capetillo and Carlos Riquelme. Critics thought this film helped indirectly to create tolerance towards homosexuality and transvestism in teenagers.

Ending the decade, Lucero had already established herself as one of the best singers in Latin America and the United States. 1989 brings major changes in the life of this young singer, her voice was no longer a girl and her figure has been transformed into a beautiful woman, and now without diminutive she became Lucero. Lucero continues her ascent in her career, now releasing her 6th studio album Cuéntame. The sales of the album reached Gold and Platinum status in Mexico. This album is worth noting that the beautiful girl achieved a total consecration of her fruitful career as a singer, opening the U.S. market, Spain, also across borders in Central America, in countries like Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and all South America. The single with the same name of the album achieved great success, becoming a number 1 hit in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala among other countries. The same song was included in VH1 list "Best 100 Songs of the '80s in Spanish". This disc was the last album she released under her diminutive Lucerito. During this year, Procter & Gamble saw in Lucero one of the most famous and best cared-for hair styles, so they decided to hire her to be the central image of Head & Shoulders shampoo campaign for Latin America.

1990s - From Rancheras to Piel de Ángel
Lucero left the 1980s with a solid career in which she managed to be recognized as one of the best singers of the decade. In 1990, Lucero starred in her first telenovela as an adult protagonist Cuando llega el amor where she also sang the theme song, this telenovela took her to get the TVyNovelas Award for Best Actress. Melody Records released a special Ep with the same name of the TV program, becoming a huge hit in Latin American reaching the top 5 in several countries. In the same year, after conquering the youth market in the ballad, Lucero opens a facet of her multifaceted career and she tried with ranchero gender performing covers of the hits of the famous band, Los Bukis, in her album Con Mi Sentimiento, which the production was guided by the legendary composer Rubén Fuentes. Her performances abroad have declared her as a strong singer bearing the name of Mexico, conquering the public in Latin America, Spain and the United States, giving her also the title of Lucero de México and La Novia de América. (Eng: The Bride of America). She is again called to star in her 6th film Deliciosa Sinvergüenza (Eng: Delicious rascal) along with Pedro Romo and Paco Ibáñez, directed by René Cardona Jr.

In 1991, she released Sólo Pienso En Ti which achieved gold and platinum status in Argentina, Chile and Mexico. Five singles were released becoming big hits in Billboard, Mexico, Spain and Latin America. The first single was Electricidad (Eng: Electricity) which reached the peak position in 10 countries and the top 5 in U.S.A. In the same year she received 5 awards for Best Singer for her work Con mi Sentimiento.1992 arrieved with great news to Lucero, she was selected as Queen of Viña del Mar Festival in the Viña del Mar International Song Festival. This year she returned to ranchera genre with the album Lucero de México, once again under the production of Rubén Fuentes. The promotion of the album was big, since her first ranchero album was not well promoted. The sales achieved the gold status in Central America and Chile, meanwhile in Mexico reached the double platinum, becoming one of the best selling album of ranchera music. She is recipient of the special accolate in the TVyNovelas Awards as Best Legs in the Mexican Media. During this year she was designated the singer with most international projection by the critics. In 1993, Lucero received a nomination for the Lo Nuestro Awards for Female Regional Mexican Artist of the Year.

Lucero, the self-titled studio album, was released on 1993. Lucero showed great maturity of the interpretation of the songs produced by the renowned Rafael Perez Botija.She achieved high sales with this album, earning the gold and then platinum status in Mexico. Its first single, Veleta, reached the peak position all over Latin America and position 2 in Hot Latin Tracks in the U.S. During this year, and during the promotion of the album Lucero, she performed in the telenovela that gave her the second TVyNovelas award for Best Actress Los Parientes Pobres; also the Association of Latin Entertainment Critics honored her in the same category. The main theme of the telenovela was sung by herself and later included as a bonus track in the album of this year.

Lucero intercalates, in 1994, once again in the ranchero music with the album Cariño de mis Cariños, being this her 3rd album of this kind of music and produced one more time by Rubén Fuentes. The album was selected as one of the best albums of the year according to Eres Magazine in Mexico. The album earned the platinum status in that country.

At the end of 1994, she released her album Siempre Contigo, supervised by Rafael Perez Botija. The album won the gold status in Mexico and achieved high sales in Central America. From the album, 5 singles were come off, reaching the top of the lists; being Siempre contigo her only song so far to reach the number one position in the U.S.A.

In mid-1995, she performed in the soap opera Lazos de Amor in which she played triplets, the telenovela reached the 1st. place in the rating of television and she also received several awards among them TVyNovelas, El Heraldo, Eres, Diosa de Plata, all of them acclaiming her performance as best actress. Melody released the soundtrack of the telenovela "Lazos de Amor" with good sales and achieving good airplay through Latin America and United States. During this year, she takes an interest to sing two new songs in a UNICEF album to raise funds for children called El Nuevo Sol, there she shared credits with Pandora and Magneto. Apart from this participation, she made two more special appearances, one was in the album Boleros:Por amor y desamor and a duet with Mijares in the live album El Encuentro, which received high rotation on the radios in U.S. and Latin America, reaching the top ten lists.

In 1997, she returned to the music scene after an extensive tour throughout Latin America and the United States, with the album Piel de Ángel (Eng: Skin of Angel) and after a pause of almost 3 years without releasing any studio album, in this album she is with an interpretive force that subdues a privileged voice that runs at will. In this new album, the hits Tácticas de Guerra, Toda La Noche y Quiero place her as the favorite of the public and making her deserving of a gold disc and platinum for her high sales in Mexico and the United States.

In 1997 Lucero married singer Manuel Mijares; Lucero had two children with him. The wedding was called "The event of the year" and it was broadcast through Televisa to Latin America. The ceremony was held in the chapel of San Ignacio de Loyola Vizcaínas High School.

In October 1997 she was invited to sing to the Pope John Paul II during the II World Meeting of Families in the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An opportunity as Lucero's own words, was the most emotional experience of her spiritual life and professional.

In December 1997, she captivated the Mexican public and other countries to lead the Telethon in Mexico for 27 hours straight to raise money for care and rehabilitation centers for disabled people, with this gesture of nobility and courage Lucero was again recorded in the hearts of the public, and so the experience has been repeated year after year to date, being the hostess of the event.

From 1997 Radio Móvil Dipsa called Lucero to be the new image for your mobile campaign with Telcel. She made television spots promoting rates, coverage, cellular models and wireless internet. Its sales increased and renewed the contract the following years, until 2000.

The company Grupo Bimbo hired her to promote her campaign only in Mexico in 1998. Bimbo called Lucero to be the centerpiece of their familiar campaign to promote healthy and fresh bread that they sold. In the March of this year, she released a new studio album Cerca de ti (Eng: Close to you), under the production of Rubén Fuentes she achieved a new success in her career, putting on the radio hits such as Corazón lastimado and A partir de hoy.

She received the Billboard Music Award for Best Ranchera Album. Also during this year, she collaborated in the nominated soundtrack for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score of Mulan, singing the song Reflejo. In this production she shared credits with Cristian Castro and Christina Aguilera.

At the end of the 1990s, the event Un Lucero en la México took place in the Plaza de Toros Mexico with an absolute success that brought together more than 40,000 people that chanted Lucero's hits and gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary as a singer and actress of the artist, in a concert of nearly three hours. As a gift she recorded her first live album that sold more than 200,000 copies. During 1999, she participated in the dubbing of the movie of Walt Disney Pictures Tarzan, where she performed the voice of Jane Porter. Also in 1999, Banamex (Mexico's largest bank) chose Lucero to be the main image of the TV spot of its 100 years of existence, this spot was only for Mexico.

2000s - From Mi Destino to 2nd Live
The new millennium started with new contracts to Lucero. In early 2000, Lucero and singer Chayanne were employed by PepsiCo to promote Doritos and Pepsi products. They did together a TV spot and several ads that were promoted throughout the Latino community in the United States. Also during this year, AT&T signed a contract with Lucero to be the main face to offer special rates for long distance calls to Latino families in the United States, where she sang in several spots the number of the area code. In 2002 and 2003, the contract remained in force, so the company had printed some ads with her image that were published throughout the United States, and for private concerts.

In 2000, she recorded the album Mi Destino (Eng: My Destiny) for the company Sony Music International, with this album Lucero shows a wide range of rhythms and sounds as the disc is produced by three world-renowned producers, Rafael Perez Botija who has produced figures as José José and Rocío Dúrcal to name a few, Ric Wake who has worked with Mariah Carey and Celine Dion among others, and Jimmy Greco who has also produced great figures like Coco Lee and Jennifer Lopez, so she surprises with 2 songs in English with an outstanding quality and interpretation. She starred in the telenovela Mi Destino Eres Tú (Eng: My destiny is you), production again under Carla Estrada and with a multiestelar cast like Jacqueline Andere, Silvia Pasquel, Julio Alemán, and María Sorté among others. Again making position in the most high ratings worldwide.This performance earned her an award as Best Lead Actress in a telenovela.

In 2001, she made an special appearance in the concert of Mijares for his second live album. Besides she received in Chile's Viña del Mar International Song Festival the award Silver Seagull granted by the public as favorite singer.

In February 2002, she began promoting the album Un Nuevo Amor (Eng: A new love), a ranchera cutting production under the supervision of three major producers such as Rubén Fuentes, Estéfano Salgado and Homero Patrón, which achieves high sales in Mexico and abroad. This album was the first for Sony Music in ranchera music, besides it was the returning of Lucero to the studios after her first pregnancy. For the time being, she was sought to participate in 3 different studio album Huey Dunbar's, Gabriel Navarro's and a special tribute to Selena. In the month of June of this year, Lucero received the Double Eagle Leadership Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Mexico & United States in gala celebrated in Coral Gables, Florida for her commitment to build stronger relations between the United States and Mexico, presented by the TV host Don Francisco.

In early 2003, Lucero was invited by PepsiCo to be the main image of the new product Sabritas for Mexico. With only three TV spots and ads the company managed to sell more than expected, so Lucero was recognized with an award and was invited to be the image of the 60 anniversary of Sabritas, singing the official jingle A Que No Puedes Comer Sólo Una (Eng: You cannot eat just one). Throughout 2003, the actress starred in the musical adaptation of the book by Antonio Velasco Piña, a musical that tells another version of what happened on October 2, 1968, in Tlatelolco. Lucero decided to take this play since she rejected to participate in the telenovela Amor real. Several months in theaters made her won an award for best actress in a musical and offered 100 performances with 100 standing ovations from the audience. Thanks to this work, Lucero was able to show at the theater community histrionic and vocal ability.

Her participation was not without controversy when a television company began to put aggressive critics against Regina to the point that when the plaque for the 100th performance was show the television reporters insisted to have an interview with the actress and they tried to follow her, just to have a security guard draw his gun against them. The scandal was remarked to the point that Lucero offered a press conference where she defended the acts of his guard and began to rant angrily against the way the rose press is working on Mexico. This situation lead her to be removed from her host position in the annual Teleton event for some years.

In August 2003, she was back to film sets to perform the role of Esperanza Alcalá in one of the most ambitious projects of Mexican cinema, Zapata: El sueño de un héroe (Eng: Zapata: The dream of a hero) by Alfonso Arau; starring Alejandro Fernández and photography by Vittorio Storaro who has to his credits 3 Oscars, art direction and costumes by Eugenio Zanetti who has also been awarded an Oscar. She participated in the soundtrack of the movie with one song named Quédate en mí (Eng: Stay in me). In the fall of 2003, she signed a contract and start with Fuller Cosmetics to promote her own perfume. An elegant fragrance within a diamond-shaped container that represents exclusivity and style. This perfume has sold many pieces in Mexico that is still available by Fuller Cosmetics.

In 2004, it was released Cuando Sale Un Lucero (Eng: When a star comes out) under the company of EMI Music Mexico, a new ranchera album with the production again of Ruben Fuentes and Homero Patrón; with the singles Entre La Espada y La Pared and Vete Por Donde Llegaste achieved gold record and release a special edition. That same year she returns to telenovelas, now with a relevant part in Alborada (Eng: Dawn) where the story takes place in 1800's and where she played María Hipólita Díaz alongside Fernando Colunga, Daniela Romo, and more. They achieve top position in the audience. With this interpretation, she is the recipient of several awards for best actress, including the Emmy Award.

After her role in this soap opera that lasted until 2005, Lucero began to record her next album in early 2006. She released Quiéreme Tal Como Soy (Eng.: Love Me As I Am) in September 2006, where she pays tribute to Rafael Pérez Botija, the composer and producer of her biggest hits. With this record she achieved strong sales thanks to the singles La Única Que Te Entiende (Eng: The One who understands you) y O Tú O Nada (Eng: Either you or nothing). In November 2006, she hosted for the first time the 7th Latin Grammy ceremony, since then she has participated as a host five times so far. As a result of the good sales of Quiéreme tal como soy, the company decided to make a concert in the National Auditorium in March 2007, recording an album completely live that achieved high sales on CD and DVD formats. This was her second and last live album to be released to the public.

On October 20, 2008, the telenovela Mañana es para siempre (Eng: Tomorrow Is Forever) was released and produced by Nicandro Diaz. This soap opera had a primetime broadcast where Lucero starred Barbara Greco, the villain of the trama; this was her second antagonist role since her well-received character María Paula in Lazos de Amor in 1996. She shared credits alongside great actors such as Silvia Navarro, Fernando Colunga and Sergio Sendel. The ratings were high and reached 51 points in his final chapter with a special two-hour duration. Due to the popularity and credibility, Procter & Gamble invited Lucero to be the face and spokesperson for the line of creams and Olay beauty products. In this way, year after year the cosmetics company has renewed its contract with the actress and singer, even getting the image of Pantene shampoo in 2011. During mid-2008 there was controversy, the singer Lucero filed a lawsuit against the Universal Music label at not receiving royalties for sales of some of her albums in the last 14 years, albums recorded with Melody Records from Fonovisa, now part of Universal. Melody Records had agreed in 1998 to pay what they owed and never paid off the debt. Lucero and the company reached an undisclosed financial agreement on the debt of the old company. Enrique Peña Nieto, governor of the State of Mexico in 2008, chooses Lucero to be the official spokesperson of the achievements that his government have met over the months. With the response from people, she renewed the contract to remain the face in 2009. Afetr finishing the contract, she was called to participated in the Spanish version of the album Voces (Eng: Voices) of the Greek composer Yanni, where it was released the single "Eterno Es Este Amor" (Eng: Eternal is this love).

2010s - "Indispensable" for music
The new decade begins with bad news for the world, a calamitous magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake hit Haiti with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. Due to the proximity of the release of the 25th anniversary of the worldwide hit We Are the World, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones and Richie decided to release it as We Are the World 25 for Haiti in order to raise money for the victims. Jones made a determination to promote a Spanish version of the song hiring Emilio Estefan and his wife Gloria Estefan, they arrange it to be sung in Spanish language. Both were responsible for selecting the singers who participated in the new song titled Somos El Mundo 25 Por Haiti; Lucero was called to be part of the song, but at the time she was very busy with a new telenovela and a new album to contribute in a leading part; thus she decided to participated at least in the chorus in order to help.

She finished filming Soy Tu Dueña a remake of the 1995 telenovela "La Dueña". It was known to be a hit. Critics said she was back on the spotlight. In Soy Tu Dueña she played Valentina Villalba. Along with Fernando Colunga. In October 2010, she released 'Indispensable', a pop album.

On March 4, 2011 after 14 years of marriage, Lucero and Mijares announced their separation.
For her work in television and the recording industry, Lucero's hand-prints have been embedded onto the Paseo de las Luminarias in Mexico City.

Gabriela Španić (born Gabriela Elena Španić Utrera, 10 December 1973), or Gaby Spanic, is an award-winning Venezuelan actress best known for her roles in telenovelas. Her sister is model/actress Daniela Spanic. She has two younger sisters Patricia and Kristen,Her sister Partricia is a Captain in the US Army engaged to a Soldier by the name of Harris. and two brothers Antonio and Adiel. Among her most famous novelas are "La Usurpadora", "Por Tu Amor", "La Intrusa", "Tierra de Pasiones", and "Soy Tu Dueña". She was the only actress to repeat the role of twins. Currently, she is starring in TV Azteca's "Emperatriz" as the title character, which was a remake of the Venezuelan version - a character which she wanted to portray during her teenage years.

Acting career1990-1997: Started as an actress and model
Spanic's father is Croatian, having moved to Venezuela with his parents in 1960. Her mother is Croatian, but she was uprooted and educated in Los Angeles. Her career started in the Miss Venezuela pageant in 1992 as Miss Guarico. Spanic began her university studies in psychology, but always had a latent desire for acting. Her career received a major boost in the mid 90s when she started having leading roles in Venezuelan soaps. Gabriela made a series of papers mostly she was the protagonist of Trama somehow it began to be considered a national heroine in Venezuela in 1997 a great team America hires for it to do a photo shoot unique for the magazine Cosmopolitan.

1998-2002: La Usurpadora and Hiatus
Gaby was invited in 1998 to star in one of the most important roles of her life, the novela "La Usurpadora" who until then would be Thalia. Gabriela starring actress who auditioned for the character Paola & Paulina came to worldwide success with the novela which was transmitted to more than 160 countries around the world and converted into one of most sold telenovela in the world. Usurpadora was practically the first novela to win more than 20 points in the grid of the TV audience Americana.

2005: Tierra de Passiones
She won the Orquidea Award in 2005 for her trajectory as an actress, as well as the prestigious FAMAS Award for Best Actress for her role in Tierra de Pasiones.
Legal and Cases Controversy

In 2002 the tabloids acknowledged that Gaby would be ending her marriage to Miguel de Leon. They divorced and after that she moved to Colombia.

In 2010, Gaby, her son, and her mother were poisoned by her assistant with Ammonium chlorate. for four months. Since then, she has recovered. Later that year, she left Televisa and signed contract with Azteca.

She was born to Croatian father and English mother, of which were immigrated in 1947, but later has a son named Gabriel de Jesús who was born on July 7, 2008.

(1) Flor Salvaje (RTI/Telemundo) A beautiful and sad tale set in a small Colombian town corrupted by oil called Nueva Esperanza. A bedraggled homeless young woman named Amanda (Mónica Spear) marches into the 4P, a bar where women are paid to entertain the oil workers, first on stage, and then in bed, and brazenly demands an opportunity to work there, hoping to provide for her three younger sisters. She becomes the object of obsession of Don Rafael Urrieta (Tony Dalton), the cruel dissolute oil man who owns the town who agrees to provide for her sisters if she becomes his exclusive prostitute, her 4P stage name, Flor Salvaje. So begins this haunting, perverse telenovela brimming with depth and a complexity of characterization, employing the breadth and time the telenovela format enables to the utmost to take the characters and audience on an unforgettable journey. Thematically, Flor Salvaje sets up a series of dualities: innocence versus corruption, wilderness versus civilization, good versus evil – most applicable to protagonists Amanda and Don Rafael, but trickling down through secondary and tertiary characters, and even Nueva Esperanza itself.

Amanda’s first love, Pablo, is murdered by Rafael. In order to avenge his death, Amanda attempts to suppress the innocent side of her, to fully become Flor Salvaje, the hardened prostitute, and lure Rafael into a trap, but in attempting to destroy Rafael, she ends up saving him, changing him, making him a better man through his love for her, and ultimately, she falls in love with this newly ennobled demon. It’s a Gordian knot of twisted character motivations, internal conflicts and contradictions, little of it verbalized, but played on the face, and Spear does marvels - following her performances in a trio of Venezuelan novelas beginning with the lovely MI PRIMA CIELA and culminating with her impressive turn LA MUJER PERFECTA as a young woman with Asperger syndrome, Spear has to be considered amongst the finest telenovela actresses of her generation.

A good telenovela develops character arcs for its principal protagonists, a great one like Flor Salvaje manages to take dozens of secondary and tertiary characters on individual arcs as well, strong subplots that both stood out on their own and interweaved convincingly with the central story, the themes and variations reverberating throughout. Whole telenovelas could have been centered upon Carolina Gaitán’s Malicia, the most polished stage performer at the 4P, a woman with stars in her eyes and talent, falling in love with a fellow artistic soul, a painter from a rich family played by Alex Gil, only to lose him due to a catastrophic blunder on her part which sends her spiraling into addiction – the woman so confident and alive on stage, diminished by drugs to a fragile shell, devastatingly vulnerable, like an exposed nerve; or Viviana Corrales as Rocío, a young woman whose brother, played by Gregorio Pernía in a brilliant villain turn, roguishly charming in public, harrowingly violent in private, harbors an incestuous fixation on her and kills her first love, and so to punish herself for not dying with her love and to punish her brother, who can’t stand to see her with another man, becomes a prostitute, giving herself to all men; or Norkys Batista, the best she’s ever been, as Zahra, the ex-prostitute who manages the 4P and acts as mother hen to the girls and sees Flor receiving the affection from Rafael she always yearned to receive.

The writing from Perla Farías consistently aimed for the complex, the morally ambiguous, good people make mistakes, bad people can do good, actions are motivated and have consequences, and most gratifying of all, her characters are always ultimately allotted some measure of dignity, good or evil, right or wrong, their depiction adheres to a deeply humanistic sensibility.

(2) Un refugio para el amor (Televisa, aired on Univision) I liken this telenovela’s excellence to mastery within a strict form, like a great sonnet; Un refugio para el amor is a traditional Mexican novela traditionally told, but with a consummate proficiency that elevates the familiar to the extraordinary. The story, first made in 1977 with a couple other major adaptations since, is basically a Cinderella variation, a poor young woman (Zuria Vega) leaves her small town for the big city, becomes a maid in a rich household, catches the eye of the oldest son (Gabriel Soto) to the torment of his mother (Laura Flores) – standard telenovela tropes, but here, exquisitely rendered, with every plot revelation and climax seemingly played as to provide the greatest emotional payoff. The writing was excellent giving the full ensemble – the cast, top to bottom, was second only to Flor Salvaje in distinction – strong material to play, starting with the principal protagonists, Zuria Vega and Gabriel Soto, each as good as they’ve ever been; and trickling down through the supporting players including a sensitive, moving breakout performance from Brandon Peniche, expert shrewishness from Jessica Coch, an appealing juvenile couple in Ilean Almaguer and Erik Díaz, and a host of excellent veterans like Roberto Blandón, David Ostrosky, Humberto Elizondo, Harry Geithner, Luz María Jerez, Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and Maricruz Nájera. Largely driving the plot was Laura Flores as the best villain of the year, outwardly a dignified Junoesque matriarch, but harboring dark secrets of past crimes, obsessively attempting to control her children while adopting ever more hyper religiosity, eventually casting herself as a warped martyr, a play at redemptive suffering and false atonement.

(3) Amor Bravio (Televisa, currently airing at 10 p.m. ET on Univision) The US airing of this novela is only near the halfway point, but even if the production falls apart from here on, that would not negate the enjoyable ride thus far. The Byzantine plots and counterplots for ownership of a ranch called La Malquerida enacted by a refreshingly proactive group of protagonists against a host of antagonists who, to add to the fun, alternately collaborate and backstab each other. The goodies (Silvia Navarro, Cristián de la Fuente, Fernanda Castillo, Alex Sirvent, Alan Estrada) have a convivial, loosey-goosey chemistry amongst themselves that is enormously appealing; and the baddies are a formidable love-to-hate group headed by veterans César Évora in prime Mephistophelean mode and Leticia Calderón as a bleached viper and deadliest of the bunch; with Laura Carmine as the heroine’s amusingly materialistic bad egg sister; and my favorite, Flavio Medina in a wired performance, a mass of psychological hang-ups stemming from his relationship with his domineering mother, Medina manages to be first repulsive, then piteous – there’s a Gollum quality to him. To appropriate something James Agee once wrote describing Mel Tormé – he reminds me of something in a jar.

(4) La que no podía amar (Televisa, aired on Univision) Another traditional Mexican telenovela from a story told a few times previously, this new version wound up a Beauty and the Beast variation about transformative, redemptive love. At the center is a soulful performance from Jorge Salinas – the best of the year – as Rogelio Montero, the cruel, embittered owner of a hacienda, confined to a wheelchair after an accident, cracking his riding crop at the world. Winsome Ana Brenda Contreras played the woman who would change his life – her radiant performance elevating her to the upper firmament of actresses in Mexican novelas. The third standout of this telenovela was Susana González as the principal antagonist, Rogelio’s sister Cynthia, who had a sort of frazzled desperation, alternately infuriating and sad, an embodiment of consuming solipsism.

(5) Una Maid en Manhattan (Telemundo) The Cinderella myth so prevalent in telenovelas is subsumed with the American Dream in this story of a Mexican immigrant (superb Litzy) and her young son (Jorge Eduardo García) setting out for themselves in the Big Apple. The handsome prince charming is a senatorial candidate (Eugenio Siller) from a prominent family; but the “marry rich” Cinderella theme is deferred as the heroine improves her station first through hard work and initiative. She can’t make it on her own, though, it ultimately takes a village, and the warmth in the relationships between her co-workers and friends (Liz Gallardo, Maite Embil, Jeimy Osorio, Henry Zakka, Marisela González) is what made the show so appealing night after night. Also of note were Paulo Quevedo as the heroine’s alcoholic ex struggling to right his life, villana Vanessa Villela with her expert bitch-faced glowers, and Karina Mora, sexy and funny in a comedy bimbo role.

(6) A Mano Limpia (RCN, currently airing weekdays at 4 p.m. ET on MundoFox) I’m not typically a fan of telenovelas focusing on teenagers, nor do I care for boxing – so I’m surprised how much I’ve enjoyed this Colombian telenovela largely centered on those two very elements. A psychology student (Valentina Acosta) from a wealthy family and an ex-con street fighter (Claudio Cataño) attempt to improve life in the barrio where he lives by starting up a gym to act as a community center – the kids in the neighborhood can work out and learn to box, those not interested in boxing busy themselves with creative pursuits like dancing, writing songs, and painting. The episodic plot is structured as a series of moral quandaries confronting the young characters and there are times when the novela succumbs to after school special didacticism; but more often the telenovela is terribly moving in its portrayal of poverty and the ways the characters cope with it while dreaming of a better future. The canvas on which this story is limned is vast allowing for an elaborate and detailed depiction of the neighborhood and its people, which also means most all the members of the large cast are given their chances in the spotlight.

(7) Escobar: El Patrón del Mal (Caracol, in its final chapters weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Telemundo) The life and times of the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar is rendered with big production values and fantastic performances that more than compensate for the banality of the scripts, a shallow and monotonous, CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED comic book version of Pablo’s Greatest Hits. The show works best in its too few domestic scenes between Andrés Parra as Pablo, Cecilia Navia as his wife, and Vicky Hernández as Pablo’s mother, who steals every scene she’s in (though a baby elephant can be birthed in her pregnant pauses).

(8) El secretario (Caracol, currently airing weekdays at 10:30 a.m. ET on Telemundo) Hidden away in a morning time slot, then reduced to half hour episodes, and unfortunately with no English friendly options, this Colombian comedy from Caracol deserved better. An office comedy that is slick and fun, with amiable and charming performances from the leads Juan Pablo Espinosa and Stephanie Cayo, camp from Martín Karpan and Fabián Mendoza, and steam from Andrea López.

(9) Relaciones Peligrosas - first 30 episodes (Telemundo) The most frustrating telenovela of the year, Relaciones Peligrosas was a fascinating failure, promising much, but ultimately delivering little. This novela about the relationships among high school students, their parents and teachers was hit and miss from the start - to explore “controversial” issues effectively probably requires a greater verisimilitude than Telemundo Miami is capable of mustering. Initially there was at least an honest attempt to create something new by the network and push the envelope, looking at “youth issues” like drugs, racist and homophobic bullying, child abuse and anorexia nervosa. The novela shifted into something far more conventional in the final two-thirds of its run, eventually deteriorating into typical Telemundo bunkum, though the shifting amorality played by Gonzalo García Vivanco as the principal antagonist, the indefatigable comic inventiveness of Ana Layevska, and the amusing dickish smarminess played by Jorge Consejo kept RELACIONES reasonably entertaining to the end.

(10) La Mariposa (Fox Telecolombia/RCN, currently airing weeknights at 9 p.m. ET on MundoFox) As only fifteen episodes of this series have aired in the US, I’ve given it an “I” for “Incomplete;” but on the merit of those fifteen episodes, La mariposa is the best show MundoFox has aired in the network’s brief existence: a stylish and exciting caper about an undercover American agent (Michel Brown) infiltrating a complex Colombian criminal cartel and falling in love with the enigmatic, seductive money launderer (María Adelaida Puerta) at the center of the operation. It’s largely escapist fare with a fast moving plot, suspenseful twists, palpable sizzle between Brown and Puerta, and strong supporting performances from Tommy Vasquez, Ana Wills, Salvador Zerboni and Enersto Benjumea.

Worst Telenovelas of The Year
It was a pretty good year for Televisa - their worst telenovela, Dos Hogares, was like THE CHERRY ORCHARD compared to the following trio, the worst telenovelas to air in the US this year, in no order: El Talisman (Univision/Venevision), Corazón Valiente (Telemundo), and El Rostro de la Venganza (Telemundo). Even that sorry trio afforded some marginal enjoyments to be gleaned: El Talisman featured a smoldering ham performance from Aarón Díaz – all ginormous belt buckles, cheap booze and hilariously inappropriate chemistry with his onscreen sister; Fabián Ríos and Ximena Duque had a fun, joshing romantic chemistry that helped make Corazón Valiente tolerable until the sheer stupidity and repetitiveness of the proceedings (whose turn is it to be taken hostage tonight?) became too much to bear; and El Rostro de la Venganza provided its viewers an all-natural nightly remedy for insomnia.